For the last decade, UK Black Metal antagonists The Infernal Sea have built a compelling campaign with a succession of releases all reinforcing the band's aggressive take on the sound.
Their 2015 effort, The Great Mortality, showcased a relentless drubbing of cold distortion, pummeling percussion, and raw vocal rasp that added to the thematic weight of the band's fixation on the Black Death that swept through Europe in 1348.
Draped in heavy black cloaks and regularly appearing in their plague doctor masks, the band's aesthetic reiterates their parade of pestilence as their latest album Negotium Crucis treads a familiar thematic narrative.
Skipping the theatrics often associated with the genre, The Infernal Sea champion a unique bravado in their music that gets down to brass tacts while still channeling the influences of their predecessors. The raw, unpolished quality of their latest LP serves well in complimenting the thematic elements that indulge in the macabre of the Middle Ages, religious zealotry, and an era where death and depravity were the business of the Cross.
Among the strongest offerings from the album, "Devoid of Fear" is is definitive of The Infernal Sea. Frenzied and violent, the track creates a unique platform in that each of the contributors are able to shine. The menacing vocals, the slicing fretwork, and the barrage of drums create a selection that translates as both unholy and genuinely hostile.
Negotium Crucis is currently available. The vinyl version of the LP experienced some delays, but is set to ship this month. Order the album - HERE
Watch the premiere of "Devoid of Fear" from The Infernal Sea below.
